Lavender's Mistake
by The Queen of the Pugs
Summary: Sequel to Life After Hogwarts: Hermione's Story. What happens after Ron and Hermione decide it was a "mistake to start dating." But, Lavender had something to do with their break up. What was that? Read to find out! DONE!
1. Default Chapter

Lavender's Mistake by The Queen of the Pugs  
  
Author's Note: This is a sequel to my other story, Life After Hogwarts: Hermione's Story. I hope you like this one. I was bored, so I decided to write a sequel with the help of a friend, Hermione Elizabeth Granger. Thanks, Hermione. **Smiles**  
  
Ginny could stand it no more. She knew what Lavender had done to Hermione and Ron, and she had to tell someone now. She felt so guilty that she could sleep no more than an hour each night because her mind would keep wandering back to when Hermione and Ron broke apart. ***Flashback, two years ago, three years after Harry, Ron, and Hermione had graduated***  
Ginny had heard Lavender and Parvati Patil talking in the girl's washroom one afternoon during her sixth year. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, it had just happened. Lavender and Parvati were standing in front of the mirror, fixing their hair.  
"I wish he'd just like me, Parvati! Why does he have to like Granger so much?" Lavender asked, pouting. Apparently neither girl had noticed Ginny entering the washroom. Ginny stood right where she was, listening now.  
"I know what you mean. I mean Granger isn't all that good looking. She's just smart," Parvati rolled her eyes and took out her lip-gloss to apply to her lips. "I don't know what Ron sees in her."  
Now Ginny's intention turned into eavesdropping. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lavender and Parvati were talking about Ron and Hermione's recent relationship. Ginny didn't even breathe while she listening for fear of being caught.  
"I have an idea," Lavender said mischievously, turning towards her best friend. "What if I made Ron like me?"  
"How can you do something like that? It sounds complicated.."  
"I'll make a love potion, duh. It will be a strong one, too. That way, he'll forget all about Hermione Granger."  
  
The next night, at dinner, Parvati was the distraction while Lavender tried to get her love potion into Ron's pumpkin juice. Parvati talked about classes, homework, Quidditch, anything to get Ron's attention away from his juice goblet. Lavender nodded her head at Parvati, letting her know that she was done.  
Ron shook his head after Parvati went back to eating her dinner. He reached for his pumpkin juice and took a drink before Ginny got the chance to tell him not to. Ginny's head slammed into the table with frustration. Now what could she do? Ron had already drunk the potion, unknowingly, and would, more than likely fall in love with Lavender.  
Some of the Gryffindors looked over at Ginny, but not with much interest. Hermione looked at Ginny questioningly, but since Ginny's head was still resting on the table, she couldn't see Hermione. Ron just laughed at Ginny, as he would, being her brother and everything. ***End Flashback***  
Ginny sighed and started pacing. It was around one o'clock in the morning, and she was still tired, even if she was guilty. She tried to figure out whom she would tell first. She would probably tell Hermione first since she was Ginny's best friend. But, what could she say? What would she say? 


	2. Love Potion No More

Lavender's Mistake by The Queen of the Pugs  
  
The next morning, Ginny decided to talk to Hermione about what Lavender had done. She still didn't have the perfect words, but she knew she would have to tell her. She had made the mistake of waiting this long and she couldn't wait any longer.  
Ginny Disapperated to Hermione's house, but because she was so nervous about telling her, she ended up about two miles away from her house. Scared to try Disapperating again, Ginny was forced to walk the rest of the two miles. By the time she got to Hermione's house, it was around ten in the morning; it had been seven when Ginny left the Burrow. She had walked so slow because of her nervousness.  
"Hello?" Hermione said sleepily as she opened the door. "Oh, hi Ginny. Come on in."  
"Hey Hermione. Did I wake you up?" Ginny asked, walking into Hermione's neatly kept house.  
"Yeah. But that's okay. I don't normally sleep this late," said Hermione, shaking her head with disgust. "But, it is my day off. Still.." Hermione sighed and motioned for Ginny to sit on the couch.  
"I didn't mean to wake you. I thought you would be awake. I can come back later," said Ginny, a little too hopefully.  
"Oh no, Ginny. I enjoy the company." Hermione walked into her kitchen and took two cups down from the cupboard. "Tea?"  
"Um, sure."  
Hermione put the teakettle full of water onto the stove to heat up for tea. She stayed in there until the water in the kettle was hot, and poured the scalding hot water into the two cups and made the tea. Then, she came back into the living room and smiled at Ginny and gave her the second cup of tea, took her own, and sat in her comfortable recliner chair. She motioned for Ginny to sit down. Ginny sat on a couch.  
"So, what is it that you need, Ginny?" Hermione asked, sipping her tea. She smiled at Ginny, who looked as if she were about to explode with apprehension.  
"Hermione," Ginny said slowly, taking a deep breath. She sighed. "LavenermadeapotionandgaveittoRonsothathewoulddumpyouforher." The words came swiftly out of Ginny's mouth.  
"Ginny, slow down," Hermione said placidly. She hadn't understood a single word that had come out of her mouth after 'Hermione'. "I can't understand you when you're in such a rush like that. I've got all day."  
"Lavender made a potion and gave it to Ron so that he would dump you for her," Ginny repeated, a little more slowly this time. "I knew but I couldn't tell anyone. I'm so sorry, Hermione.  
Hermione was no longer calm. She looked at her friend skeptically. She set down her teacup and shook her head slowly, sighing. "How do you know that, Ginny?" she asked. "That's a big thing to accuse her of." Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, and then quickly added, "Besides, we both know that potions weren't Lavender's greatest subject."  
"But she did!" Ginny exclaimed helplessly. "I heard her talking to Parvati Patil in the girl's washroom one day. She was talking about how she couldn't stand you, and she didn't know what Ron saw in you, blah blah, and then she started talking about making a potion to make Ron think that he really loved her, and not you. I swear."  
"So what if she did, Ginny?" Hermione asked shaking her head. "Ron and I are over, plain and simple. We agreed that we never should have dated. I guess we really shouldn't have; it's just too confusing to date one of your best friends, and it hurts too much when you break up."  
"But Hermione, you and Ron can still date!" Ginny said. "Come on, Hermione! Ron isn't going to marry Lavender anymore! The potion's stopped working, so why can't you date him?"  
"Because Ginny, I already told you. Ron and I both agreed that we were over, and that we shouldn't have even started anything but friendship between us." But Hermione was beginning to have second doubts about saying that. Maybe she and Ron would get back together, and be happy, the way that they had been in seventh year.  
"I can tell that you miss him," Ginny said, noticing the look of doubt on Hermione's face. "And I can tell that he misses you, too! So why not just send him a letter asking him to come over here so that you guys can talk about all of this? Come on, Hermione. I know you loved him."  
"It doesn't matter that I love him!" cried Hermione. "He didn't love me. Or at least he didn't love me enough to make a difference. If Ron loved me that much, then why did that love potion work?" Tears streaked down her face and she set her teacup down. "It shouldn't have worked if he loved me as much as I loved him."  
"Now Hermione, you and I both know that that isn't true," Ginny soothed, going over to give Hermione a hug for comfort. "Of course Ron loved you, or else Lavender wouldn't have been so jealous of you, and if he didn't, why did he ask you out, and stay with you for so long until there was magical interference? Just ask him to come over here to talk about this, and you'll see." **************************************************************************** ************************  
An hour later, there was another knock on Hermione's door. Ginny had gone, and Hermione had done as her friend suggested; she wrote a letter to Ron, asking him to come over to her house to talk. Hermione got out of her comfortable chair to answer the door. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a red tee shirt. When she pulled the door open, she wasn't at all surprised to see Ron standing there, with a casual smile on, trying to act as though nothing had ever happened.  
"Come on in," she said, and stepped aside so Ron could come in. "Would you like some tea? I've just made a fresh kettle full."  
"No thanks, Hermione," Ron said, walking into her house. "I meant to mention before, well, you know, the last time I was here, that I like your house. It's always neat and tidy, and, well, perfect."  
"Thanks. I try and keep it well kept." She poured another cup of tea for herself, even though she had already had about four cups. "Go ahead and sit down somewhere." Hermione came out into the living room with her cup full of tea again and sat in her comfortable chair. Ron sat on the couch.  
"So, what did you want to talk about, Hermione?" Ron asked, watching as she sipped her hot tea.  
"Ginny told me this insane story, but the more I get to thinking about it, the more it seems to fit," Hermione began. "She says that one day, when we were back in our seventh year, she heard Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil talking, and Lavender was plotting to make a love potion and give it to you, so you would dump me and date her."  
"Really?" Ron asked incredulously. "Ginny isn't one to lie a lot. Do you think Lavender really did that?" He shook his head. "Why would Lavender do that?"  
"Ginny said that she was jealous, tired of trying to see what you saw in me," Hermione said, shrugging her shoulders and taking a long drink of her tea, trying to stall this. "From what Ginny says, I'm guessing she had this huge crush on you, and so she made a love potion to take you away from me."  
"Do you really think that Lavender would do something like that?" Ron repeated.  
"Honestly, Ron, yes. I wouldn't put it past her. She's one of those girls who would do anything to get the guy they want, and she apparently wanted you. Do you see anything in her anymore, Ron?"  
"Not really, or not enough for me to want to marry her anymore. Why? What does this have to do with anything?"  
"Everything," Hermione said, biting her lip, trying to keep from smiling. "If you don't want to marry her, or spend the rest of your life with her, then Lavender's love potion has worn off." **************************************************************************** ***********  
Me: I know, I know. It has taken me forever to get this chapter out, and I apologize. It's taken me a while to try and figure out where this story is going. Honestly, I still don't know exactly where I am going with it, but at least this chapter is out. Please review. I'd like to know what you think of this story. 


	3. Let The Truth Be Told

Lavender's Mistake by The Queen of the Pugs  
  
Okay, so, Lavender made a love potion and used it to make me fall in love with her, Ron thought to himself as he walked in Hogsmeade. And, I was going to marry Lavender, but only because I was under the love potion. Okay, so which girl do I really love?  
He walked into The Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table in the back. His brain hurt from all of this. He had been dating Hermione, but then Lavender got jealous, made a love potion and gave it to him, and made him fall in love with her. So, he dumped Hermione, broke her heart, and went out with Lavender, then asked Lavender to marry him, but then found out that he didn't love her that much anymore. And now Hermione was saying that Ginny told her all this stuff about love potions, and now he didn't know whom he really loved.  
Madam Rosmerta walked over to his table, in her shiny red high heels, and looked down at him. "What can I get for you, pumpkin?" she asked sweetly. "A butterbeer, perhaps? Or would you be wanting Fire Whiskey?"  
"Just a butterbeer is fine," Ron said inattentively, his mind on the problem of which girl he loved and which girl he didn't. "Thanks."  
Madam Rosmerta stalked away, back up to the bar to tell the bartender what Ron wanted and to get it for him. Just then, who should walk in The Three Broomsticks but Harry? He spotted Ron over in the corner and made his way over there, stopping only once to let Madam Rosmerta know to bring two butterbeers over to the table instead of the original one.  
"Hey, Ron," said Harry as he sat down across the table from Ron. "What's going on with you?" He took one look at Ron's face and knew that something was up with him. Harry prodded and prodded until Ron finally told Harry the whole story.  
"And now I don't know who I really like," Ron concluded just as Madam Rosmerta came to their table and handed them their butterbeers. "I don't love Lavender, that's for sure, but I think it would be really, um, well, really awkward between me and Hermione."  
"But, do you love her?" asked Harry as he took a drink of his butterbeer. "I mean, I guess it wouldn't matter if you really loved her."  
"Love who?" Ron asked, also taking a drink of his butterbeer. He cursed as his butterbeer spilled down the front of his shirt. He sighed, wiping a napkin on his shirt.  
"Hermione, Weasley," Harry said simply. "Don't be daft. I wouldn't be asking if you loved Lavender if you already told me that you don't love her. So, do you love Hermione? Because like I said, I guess it wouldn't really matter about it being awkward if you two really loved each other."  
Ron shrugged. "I don't think I even know what love is anymore," he said. "I mean, after Lavender used that potion on me and I thought I loved her, my brain is all screwed up and I can't think anymore about that kind of thing."  
"Personally, I think you're brain has always been messed up, but I understand how you feel," Harry nodded understandingly and grinned. "Really Ron, I think that you must be able to tell if you love her or not."  
"I don't know, Harry!" exclaimed Ron helplessly. "How am I supposed to know that now? I thought I loved Lavender, thought what I felt for her was real, and love, but now I figure out that I only 'loved' her because she made me love her. What I am supposed to think? Why don't you tell me? Because I certainly haven't got a clue."  
"Sorry, mate, but I can't help you with that. You have got to decide whom you love and whom you don't, and what you're going to tell each girl on your own. I can't tell you who to love or who not to love."  
Okay, so, which girl did he really love? It couldn't be that hard to tell, could it? Well, for starters, what attracting him to Hermione in the first place?  
Well, there was the way she always dedicated herself to things and never stopped until they were perfect, like the way she never stopped studying until she knew (practically) everything about the subject and got like a 320% in the class (except for potions, which she could only get a 93% for obvious reasons).  
Maybe it was the way her hair swayed on her back when she walked, the way she always knew the answer, no matter how hard, or how she had dared to be different when Umbridge was there in their fifth year and read the whole book before everyone else was done with the third chapter. It could have been the way her eyes seemed to light up when she smiled. All these little things that others never noticed about her before always made Ron smile.  
And then there was Lavender. What did he like about her? Well, there was that thing that she did—no, that's one thing that annoyed him about her. What about the way she always used to—no, that wasn't it either. There had to be something that made Ron love her. But there was. The love potion is what made him love her, not the same kind of things that made him love Hermione.  
So that's it then, Ron thought, that's whom I really love. It was never Lavender; she always kind of bothered me. I don't love her; it was the potion that made me think that I loved her when I really loved Hermione. So all I have to do now is somehow get the courage to tell Hermione.  
That's when the idea hit him.  
Ron stood up suddenly and said, "Harry, I've got to go," and with that, he hurried away, leaving Harry gaping after him in confusion. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
There was a knock at Hermione's door, and she left her comfortable spot on the couch and set her teacup down on a table just inside the foyer. She opened the door to see Ron Weasley, grinning broadly at her. Without waiting for her to invite him in, he hurried inside, pushing past her and entering her living room.  
"Oh, please, do come in Ron," Hermione called loudly and sarcastically over her shoulder. "I wouldn't want to stay outside in the nice warm sunshine." Striding into the living room she added, "Want some tea?"  
"Hermione, I love you." 


	4. Conversations With the Enemy

Lavender's Mistake by the Queen of the Pugs

Hermione dropped the teacup she was holding, and it fell to the kitchen floor and shattered into a million little pieces. She hadn't even realized that she let go of the cup until it hit the floor. She bent down to pick up the pieces, and Ron came in to help. They bumped heads trying to pick up the same piece of porcelain. She stood up and grabbed onto the counter as if she didn't have support, she might fall over. Her heart was beating so hard it was getting kind of hard to breathe.

"So?" Ron prompted, also standing up.

Her heart was screaming, "I love you, too!" but her brain was reminding her of the last time that they had met, when they'd agreed that dating each other had been a mistake. If her brain believed that was true, then why did her heart feel like it was shattering just like the cup had? Breathe, Hermione, she instructed herself sternly.

"I still think I stand by what we agreed upon earlier," she said slowly, her heart objected to every word. She turned away at the hurt expression on his face.

"You mean you still think that us being together was a mistake from the very beginning?" She swallowed and nodded. Ron blinked a few times. Why was this going so wrong? A part of him was telling him that he was stupid for thinking that Hermione would just be willing to take him back, just like that. But the other part was confused as to why she hadn't taken him back yet.

A very stunned Ron Weasley slowly back out of his ex-girlfriend/friend's house. When he was gone, Hermione sank onto the floor, pulled her knees up against her and sobbed into them, yet again cursing her logical brain.

Ron paced angrily around his bedroom back at the Burrow. He wasn't mad at Hermione; he could never truly be angry with her. He was mad at himself for being so stupid and dumping her in the first place. But that hadn't been him. After all it was Lavender who had concocted the love potion and made him dump Hermione in the first place. It was all her fault.

Lavender. That was it! He'd make Lavender help him win back Hermione's heart. She'd gotten him into this mess, and now she was going to get him out of it.

Ron knocked on her door, and then, not waiting for an answer, barged right in. Lavender Brown looked up, startled, from her place on the couch. "Oh, hi Ron," she giggled nervously. "How are---?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're going to help me." It wasn't a question. "You made me break Hermione's heart, and now your going to help me get her back."

She tried her best to look innocent. "Why, Ronald Weasley I have no idea what you're talking about---"

"Stop it!" he exploded. "Just stop lying to me! I know about the love potion, Lavender. I know that it was you who made me hurt Hermione."

Lavender gulped and nodded slowly. "I know what I can do."

There was another knock on Hermione's door. She began wondering if she would be getting any time to herself on her day off. It didn't seem like it. Wiping her eyes and trying to smooth her hair just a little bit, she walked to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

"Lavender," she said shortly, curtly nodding her head at the girl in front of her. "What do you want? If you're looking for Ron, he's already left---"

"I wanted to talk to you," Lavender said quickly, waving a dissmissive hand in the air. "Can I come in?"

Hermione eyed the girl suspiciously. She had never really liked Lavender Brown or Pavarti Patil, and she had liked them even less after Ron had dumped her for Lavender. But she stepped aside and let her into her house. After settling back in her favourite chair, she said, "You want to talk to me, Lavender, so talk."

"You have to take Ron back," Lavender began. "I know that you two have already agreed that you never should have dated and what not, but he really does love you, and I know you really love him, too. I shouldn't have interfered with that love in the first place, but I was jealous of what you two had together. And now I'm really sorry."

"Why should I believe you?" Hermione asked rudely. "How am I to know that this isn't just part of your plan to get Ron to marry you? After all, you stole him from me once, so what's stopping you from doing it again?"

Lavender winced. "Listen to me, Hermione. I know that I deserved that for what I did, but I'm trying to make it up to you, I really am. I want you and Ron to be happy, and the only way that's going to happen is if you two get back together. You two are the perfect couple, and I think...I think that's why I got jealous. I wasn't really jealous of you, per se, but I was jealous of what you and Ron had."

"So you're saying that just because you say that you're sorry, it means that I have to get back together with Ron because we 'are the perfect couple'?"

"You can never make things easy can you?" snapped Lavender.

"Not when it comes to you!" Hermione shot back. "Just because you're telling me that I have to get back together with Ron doesn't mean that I'm going to do it, Lavender Brown!"

"Don't you get it?" Lavender cried. "Ron loves you! He told you himself! He doesn't love me, Hermione, he loves you! And you love him! I know you do, so stop being stupid and analyzing it to death, and just take him back."

"I am not analzying anything to death! All I'm saying is that Ron and I have already made the choice to not be together anymore, and that's that."

"Yes, I know that Ron and you agreed that it was a mistake to date each other in the first place, but Ron has gone back on the decision, can't you see that? He wants you back, and I know that you want him back, too. You two are wasting the perfect friendship and relationship that was pratically handed to you."

Hermione went silent. Finally she said, "I guess you're right."


	5. Lavender's Mistake

Lavender's Mistake by The Queen of the Pugs

"You can probably leave now," Hermione said to Lavender after a moment. "Um, thanks a lot for convincing me to take Ron back. I—I really appreciate the help." It was no use; Lavender didn't budge.

"Oh, please. Save your flattering words, Granger," Lavender said, rolling her eyes. "I'm staying here until I know that you two are back together." She stared at Hermione with a defiant expression on her face, as if she were daring Hermione to challenge her.

Of course Hermione couldn't pass up the opportunity. "How do you know that Ron and I are going to get back together for sure?" she demanded. "What if he suddenly decides he doesn't love me anymore?"

Lavender stared at Hermione as if she were looking at the dumbest person she had ever seen. "Ron wouldn't do that," she said slowly, as if to be sure Hermione would understand her that way.

"How do you know that? I mean can you really tell?" Hermione knew she was behaving childishly, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't really tell why she was acting that way, but she sure would like to know. She usually didn't act like this.

Lavender shook her head and took a deep breath to calm her down. She felt like slapping Hermione at the moment, but she knew that somehow that wouldn't help her. "People don't just wake up and decide they aren't in love with someone, Hermione. Things don't work that way."

Hermione sighed and looked like she was going to argue some more, but instead she said, "Fine. What is it going to take to get you out of my house?"

Lavender smiled only too readily. "I was waiting for you to ask me that, though not in those exact words. Now you're going to write a letter to Ron asking him on a date."

"What? Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Lavender asked, surprised by Hermione's response. "How else are you two supposed to get back together?"

"Well, I was just planning to go to his house and tell him that I changed my mind—"

"Don't be ridiculous," she mocked, shaking her head. "You have to do something romantic, Hermione, not just walk up to him and say, 'Oh by the way, I forgive you.' It doesn't work that way. Boys love romance."

Hermione glared at the girl sitting in front of her, sincerely wishing that she would just leave her house and quit bugging her. This was _her_ relationship with Ron, not Lavender's after all. Lavender had had her chance with Ron, and now it was Hermione's turn to win him back, and she was going to do it on her own if it _killed_ her.

"Oh, and just how did you run across this little piece of information?" she asked Lavender haughtily.

"Oh please, Granger!" Lavender cried, starting to get extremely frustrated with Hermione. "Are you always like this?"

"Like what?" she demanded.

"Like you just _know_ you're right! You always act as if whoever you're talking to is incredibly dense or something! It's rather annoying, you know. I just don't know how Harry and Ron keep sticking around you, let alone Ron being in love with you! That's why I got so jealous of you, because Ron loved you even though you were such a huge know-it-all."

"Get out."

"What?!"

"You heard me," Hermione said, her voice shaking from anger. "I said get out of my house, now. If you're just going to sit here and poke fun at me, you can just leave now and spare me getting really upset."

"I think it's a bit late for that," the other girl responded curtly. "Besides, I've already told you that I'm not leaving until I know you and Ron are back together. Call it…a birthday gift from me to you."

"My birthday is in September."

"You can never make things easy can you?" Lavender repeated, sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time since she'd been in Hermione's house. "Now have you got a bit of parchment and a quill laying around here somewhere perchance?"

A full twenty minutes and quite a few arguments later, a letter for Ron was produced, in which he was asked to meet Hermione in Madam Puddifoot's, a quaint little tea shop in Hogsmeade. Lavender had scoffed at her when Hermione had suggested going to Honeydukes, the wizarding sweet shop, insisting that going with somewhere more romantic would be so much better, but Hermione had argued that it would be better if they were in a setting that they both felt comfortable in. But in the end Hermione gave into Lavender's demands, but only because she was giving her a headache.

Lavender attached the letter to Hermione's owl's leg and sent it off to Ron's with a look of satisfaction on her face. When the bird had flown out of sight, Lavender turned back around and shot a smug look at Hermione, who was now looking worried upon seeing that look on Lavender's face.

"What?" she demanded.

"Now we have to get you ready for your date. Do you have any make-up, because I think we'll really need some---"

"Make-up?" squeaked Hermione.

An hour later, Lavender finally declared Hermione ready for her date with Ron, after almost giving up and proclaiming her a hopeless case. Hermione hadn't argued with Lavender about the make-up, though she really didn't want to wear any. At that point, she just wanted her former classmate out of her house.

The only part of her look that she liked was her outfit, and she'd chosen the shirt. She was clad in a light blue tank top and a jean skirt that (thankfully) went down to her knees. As a final touch (to her outfit, anyway) Lavender had thrown on a jean jacket over her bare shoulders.

Lavender, a huge grin on her face, turned Hermione toward the mirror she kept in her bedroom. Hermione had to grip the stool she was seated upon in order not to fall off it. She felt _ridiculous_ covered in all of this make-up that she wasn't used to wearing. Her eyes were outlined with thick black eyeliner, her lashes were coated in mascara, and her eyelids looked as if they had been smothered with blue eye shadow. Her lips seemed too shiny, and she was sure that Lavender (or anyone else who happened to look at her) could see her reflection in them.

But that wasn't even the worst part. Lavender had attacked her bushy hair with several straightening spells, and now it hung limply around her face and shoulders. Hermione watched her eyes grow wide in the mirror as she turned to look at Lavender, who was watching her gleefully.

"What have you done to me?"

"Don't you just love it? I think it looks lovely, and so will Ron. Now hurry up, or you'll be late."


	6. Confidence and Shared Feelings

Hermione felt positively ridiculous sitting in Madam Puddifoot's in her jean skirt and tank top, with her hair hanging limply around her shoulders and her heavily made up face. She couldn't understand why Lavender wouldn't let her do it her own way. It was almost like Lavender was trying to live vicariously through Hermione on her date with Ron. But Lavender Brown's chance with Ron was over, and it was now time for Hermione to step up and get him back. She just hadn't imagined that she'd be look like…well, like Lavender when she did it. She tapped her fingers on the table in front of her nervously; she was unsure of how Ron was going to react to her new look. There was a couple at the table next to hers, staring into each other's eyes. It was starting to make her uncomfortable.

A moment late, the bell over the door to the teashop tinkled, and Hermione's head whipped around to see Ron enter. She thought about getting his attention, but he spotted her by himself. He slid into the seat opposite her.

"Hey," he greeted, flashing her a small smile. "I have to say I wasn't expecting you to write, especially after earlier…" He trailed off and stared at her oddly, his head slightly cocked to the side.

"I wasn't really expecting to write to you either," she replied, trying to avoid eye contact with him. She was also trying rather hard not to notice or say anything about his staring at her like his was. A moment of silence passed between them, broken only when Ron heaved a big sigh. A waitress came to the table, and Hermione ordered lemon tea and Ron ordered a medium sized coffee.

When the waitress had gone, Hermione immediately began to talk. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry about freaking out earlier when…well, you know. I should have at least given you a chance to talk with about all of this. I just…I guess I just kind of flipped out when you told me that you loved me."

Ron nodded his head understandingly. "I did spring it on you kind of suddenly. But I meant what I said---I still mean it."

Hermione swallowed hard. An awkward silence fell over them for a long time, until finally the waitress came back with their drinks. Hermione took a sip of her tea and winced; she'd forgotten to add sugar. The only noise at the table was that of crinkling paper as Hermione added sugar to her tea. Ron didn't touch his coffee.

She was starting to think that neither of them was going to speak again when he finally asked, "Hermione, what happened to you? You look…you don't look like yourself."

If she'd been any other girl on a date with Ron Weasley, she probably would have either a) slapped him, b) dumped her hot tea in his lap, or c) all of the above. But she wasn't any other girl. She was Hermione, one of his best friends, so she was used to Ron's bluntness.

"Lavender Brown happened, Ron," Hermione said calmly. "She decided to come over to my house earlier, yell at me for 'analyzing everything to death' and then help me get you back. This whole thing---apart from the actual _idea_ of the date---was Lavender's idea. The hair, the make up, the place, everything was her idea."

"Oh," was all he said for a moment. He stared at her again, and then added, "I'm sorry."

Yet another awkward silence fell over them, but this time Hermione was the one to break it by asking, "Do you still think about her? Lavender, I mean."

Ron looked taken aback by this question, and had to take a moment to think carefully about his answer. "I guess I do think about her sometimes, but mostly just because I don't even know what I saw in her," he answered slowly. "It makes sense to me now that I know that she used a love potion on me though."

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you had married her?" Hermione asked curiously. "Do you think you might have eventually learned to really love her without the potion?"

He laughed; it was a slightly surprised but mostly happy sound, and it made her smile in spite of herself. "I haven't really had time to think much about anything but trying to make things right between the two of us. Why all the questions, Hermione? What's up?"

"Nothing's 'up,' Ron," she replied. There was a slight pause. "I'm just curious, is all." He stared at her, a small smile playing about his lips. "Oh, alright. I wanted to know if you had any lingering feelings for her. The potion was so strong that the only way it would have worked so well for such a long period of time is if you had some sort of feelings in the first place."

Reaching across the table, he took her hand away from her teacup and covered it with both his hands. "If I still had any left over feelings for Lavender from the potion, I wouldn't be here with you now. I love _you_, Hermione, not Lavender, okay?" She muttered something inaudible under her breath, not looking at him. "Sorry, what was that?"

"You enjoy watching me squirm, don't you?" she asked, and he grinned teasingly at her. "I said, I love you too, okay? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

He let go of her hand, still grinning, and she left the table in search of the girl's bathroom. Once inside, she took out her wand and said a spell Ginny had once taught her, pointing the wand at her hair. It instantly came back to life with a small pop, becoming thick and bushy once again, just the way she liked it. She put her wand back in her pocket, and then proceeded to remove the large amount of make-up on her face with a wet paper towel. In five minutes, she looked more or less like her normal self. Apparently the mascara Lavender had used on her eyes was waterproof.

Finally she deemed herself ready to go back out there. She walked over to the table with a new air of confidence about her, grabbed Ron by the hand, and tried to tug him out of the booth. She stopped for just a moment, though, but only to toss the money for the tea and coffee (that were both practically untouched).

"Come on, Ron. Let's get out of here."

Startled by her bizarre behaviour, Ron asked, "Alright. Where'd you have in mind?"

"I was thinking Honeydukes."


End file.
